YOUNGER  ARTISTS  SERIES 

NUMBER  4 

yASUO  KUNiyOSHI 


Those  interested  in  the  raison  d'etre  of  this 
monograph  will  find  in  thefirst  number  ofthe 
series  to  which  it  belongs  a »General  Intro* 
duction«  by  Mr.  Harold  Ward.  With  as 
much  brevity  as  is  consistent  with  definite* 
ness,  this  Introduction  seeks  to  formulate 
the  intellectual  position  of  the  editor,  and 
to  outline  the  critical  background  against 
which  he  has  placed  the  various  figures 
dealt  with  in  »Theyounger  Artists  Series«. 


PRINTED  BY 

ERNST  WASMUTH  A.-G.,  BERLIN 


YOUNGER  ARTISTS  SERIES 

NUMBER  4 


yASUO  KUNiyOSHI 

BY 

WILLIAM  MURRELL 


WITH  FRONTISPIECE  IN  COLOR  AND 
21  REPRODUCTIONS  IN  BLACK  AND  WHITE 


WOODSTOCK  N.  Y.  1922 
PUBLISHED  BY  WILLIAM  M.  T1SHER 


YOUNGER  ARTISTS  SERIES 


Already  Published 
Nr.  1 Ernest  Fiene 
Nr.  2 Alexander  Brook 
Nr.  3 Peggy  Bacon 
Nr.  4 yasuo  Kuniyoshi 

In  Preparation 
Nr.  5 Henry  Lee  Mac  Fee 
Nr.  6 Ben  Benn 
Nr.  7 Edward  Fisk 
Nr.  8 Henry  Mattson 


yASUO  KUNiyOSHI 


The  invisible  chasm  between  the  Japanese  and 
the  Western  mind  has  been  tentatively  bridged 
for  us  in  various  ways.  By  appreciations  of 
ancient  Japanese  art,  by  translations  of  poetry  and 
drama,-  by  the  transposing  of  the  Japanese  sense 
of  rhythm  by  Whistler,  and  of  the  life  atmosphere 
by  Lafcadio  Hearn. 

The  Japanese,  on  their  side,  have  made  specta= 
cular  progress  in  -their  assimilation  and  imitation 
of  Western  civilization.  Especially  is  this  true 
with  regard  to  all  modern  mechanical  and  scien= 
tific  discoveries. 

In  art,  of  course  many  Japanese  students  have 
taken  up  Western  methods  of  painting,  and  are 
proudly  proficient  in  technique.  The  to  them  fas~ 
cination  and  novelty  of  naturalistic  representation 


is  readily  understandable,  but  it  is  also  clear  to 
any  observer  that  our  objective  technique  is,  at 
bottom,  not  an  authentic  medium  for  the  Oriental 
psyche  — which  is  essentially  subjective  in  quality, 
expressing  itself  best  in  symbols  and  convene 
tionalized  forms. 

It  is,  however,  undeniable  that  the  Japanese 
mind  has  become  more  objective,  and  that  all 
aesthetically  minded  Westerns  are  on  the  whole, 
subjective.  So  that  here  on  artistic  soil,  it  would 
appear,  is  common  ground.  Yet  it  is  only  appa= 
rently  so,  for  whereas  the  more  subjective  Occi= 
dentals  interest  themselves  in  visualizations . of 
their  emotions,  the  more  objective  Japanese  plunge 
headlong  into  what  is  miscalled  realistic  art. 

It  is  therefore  all  the  more  remarkable  to  find 
one  or  two  Japanese  who  have  not  swallowed 
Western  technique  whole,  but  who  have  de= 
liberately  broken  off  and  digested  only  what  their 
individual  artistic  diathesis  could  absorb. 

Yasuo  Kuniyoshi  is  perhaps  the  only  Japanese 
now  painting  in  America  whose  work  is  free 
from  both  Oriental  and  Occidental  academic  in= 
fluences  as  such,-  the  single  instance  of  a selective 
blending  of  dynamic  elements  from  two  great 
traditions  into  a style  distinctly  original.  This  is 


saying  much,  but  not  too  much.  No  one,  glancing 
through  this  little  book  of  reproductions,  can  fail 
to  note  the  excellence  and  charm  of  design,  the 
perfection  of  expressive  detail,  and  the  extra* 
ordinarily  ingenuous  humor. 

Kuniyoshi  came  to  America  when  he  was 
fourteen  years  old,  and  he  is  now  twenty=eight. 
It  is  significant  that  he  had  no  artistic  training  in 
Japan,  but  studied  in  Los  Angelos  and  in  New 
York  at  irregular  intervals.  All  that  is  Japanese 
in  his  work  is  therefore  innate  and  authentic,-  and 
that  which  is  American  comes  less  from  the  art 
schools  than  from  the  life  about  him.  Yet  he  is 
unquestionably  an  American  painter,  less  by 
reason  of  his  technical  training  or  subject  matter 
than  by  reason  of  his  free  exercise  of  a creative 
personal  aesthetic  as  opposed  to  the  conventional 
traditions  of  his  race. 

Kuniyoshi's  first  exhibition,  held  at  the  Daniel 
Gallery  in  New  Yor^  in  January  1922,  was 
pleasantly  though  quietly  received.  Most  of 
the  canvases  reproduced  here  were  then  exhibited. 
As  a painter  Kuniyoshi  ignores  the  current  effort 
for  solidity  of  form.  He  calmly  brushes  in  thin 
harmonious  color  over  the  surfaces  of  his  designs, 
and  depends  largely  upon  the  humor  and  quality 


of  the  latter  to  sustain  his  work.  But  there  are 
many  passages  of  quite  distinguished  color  in  his 
painting,  which  are  to  be  felt  only  after  the  amused 
surprise  at  the  designs  is  past. 


yASUO  KUNiyOSHI 
REPRODUCTIONS 

Frontispiece  in  Color 


Paintings : 

1.  Boy  Frightened  by  Snake 

2.  Wild  Horses 

3.  Boy  Fishing 

4.  Village 

5.  Good  Little  Girl 

6.  From  Pine  Hill 

7.  The  Poultry  Yard 

8.  Girl  at  the  Piano 

9.  Young  Couple 

10.  Maude 

11.  Sisters 

12.  The  Flapper 

13.  Milking 

Drawings: 

14.  Boy  Frightened  by  Lightening 

15.  Landscape 

16.  StilLlife 

17.  Baby  with  Toy  Cow 

18.  Egg-plant 

19.  Country  Road 

20.  Fruit 

21.  Milking 


BOY  FRIGHTENED  BY  SNAKE 


Oil  1!>21 


BOY  FISHING 


Oil  1921 


' 


(Owned  by  Mrs.  G.  R.  Dick) 


GOOD  LITTLE  GIRI 


Oil  1921 


THE  POULTRY  YARD 


Oil  1921 


YOUNG  COUPLE 


Oil  1921 


l 


SISTERS 


Oil  1920 


THE  FLAPPER 


Oil  1921 


MILKING 


Oil  19-21 


BOY  FRIGHTENED  BY  LIGHTENING  luk  Drawing  1921 

(Owned  by  Mrs.  C.  Blacon) 


LANDSCAPE  Ink  Drawing  .920 


BABY  WITH  TOY  COW 


Ink  Drawing  1921 


EG  G-PLANT 


Ink  Drawing  1921 


COUNTRY  ROAD 


Ink  Drawing  1921 


Ink  Drawing  1921 


MILKING 


I 

l 


I 


